Durgapur, March 14: A policeman was killed after clashes erupted following the death of a woman when a truck violated traffic regulations and barged into a religious procession at Niamatpur late this evening.

Islam Patua, a constable, was stabbed to death by an angry mob that had earlier set the truck on fire and clashed with police.

Vehicles had been cordoned off the area for the procession, the police said. The truck, however, ignored the regulations and entered the area around 9 pm.

The procession of around 600 people was winding its way through the locality. The truck first hit the 30-year-old woman who, the police said, was a bystander. After running her over, it hit some of the men in the procession. Four of them were critically injured.

The truck ground to halt as the angry mob swarmed around it but the driver fled in the melee. The rogue vehicle was ablaze in moments.

The processionists, joined by hundreds of bystanders, then directed their wrath at the police contingent. The force had to fire several rounds in the air after the mob snatched arms from some of the personnel.